Greece’s food retail sector charged into 2026 with momentum, posting January sales of €1.201 billion, up 8.6% from €1.107 billion the previous year, according to the latest NielsenIQ data.
Average unit prices for fast-moving consumer goods climbed 2.7% year-over-year through January 25, 2026, marking a clear uptick from prior quarters: 1.2% in Q2 2025, 1.4% in Q3, and 2.1% in Q4. Inflation in the grocery basket is regaining a steady footing.
Crucially, the surge isn’t purely inflationary. Of the 7.1% nominal FMCG growth, 4.4 percentage points came from higher volumes and just 2.7 from price increases, meaning consumers are buying more units, not just paying more per item.
Fresh and packaged foods lead category gains
Fresh and bulk products delivered the strongest performance at +11.8%, with sales rising to €303 million from €272 million last year. Food and beverages, the largest segment at 54.5% of total turnover, grew 8.7% to €654 million from €602 million.
Beverages outperformed foods within it (+9.3% vs. +8.5%). Bazaar items (non-FMCG) jumped 10.3% to €77 million, while household products edged up 1.3% to €96 million and health/beauty products rose 3.1% to €71 million. Overall FMCGs advanced 7.3%.
Hypermarkets break records
Hypermarkets over 2,500 sqm led with a 13.3% gain, the top performer despite holding just 12.7% market share. Large supermarkets (400-2,499 sqm), at 39.2% share, grew 6.3%; small supermarkets 9.9%; and superettes 7.8%.
Thessaloniki tops regional growth, islands lag behind
Thessaloniki surged 10.6%, outpacing Athens at 9.3% (44.1% share). Central Greece followed at 9.1%, Crete 8.4%, Peloponnese 7.8%, and Macedonia/Thrace 7.3%. Islands trailed at 3.6%, tied to January’s off-season tourism lull.
E-commerce: small share, triple-digit acceleration
Online sales from the top six chains, Sklavenitis, AB Vassilopoulos, Masoutis, My Market, Chalkiadakis, and ANEDIK Kritikos, hit €27.8 million, up 26% from €22.1 million last year, nearly triple the 9.2% physical store growth.
E-commerce’s share reached 3.3% in January 2026, up from 2.6% in 2022. Absolute volumes are modest, but the trajectory underscores growing digital adoption in food shopping.
Private label steady, promotions ease
Private label products held steady at 24.3% share for the second straight year, well above 2021’s 22.4%, without further gains. Promotional intensity on branded FMCGs dipped to 37.2% from 44.5% last year and 68% in 2023. Across all FMCGs, it fell to 31.3%, reflecting impacts from the Code of Conduct implementation.
